The Last of Our Fears
by CaffrinLuvsTMGC
Summary: A mysterious council of living objects, including Notepad and Tony, plan to get rid of Harry, Robin, and Manny after they tell a close neighbor of their past encounters. With deep concern, she vows to help them and never let it happen again. But soon, the trio's fears start to come to life...literally. Could there be a much more sinister plot behind Tony and Notepad's "lessons"?
1. Prologue

A small light flickered over a large table with what seem to be regular inanimate objects. Tony the Talking Clock was seated at the front edge, with Notepad beside him, writing a few things down on one of her pages.

"Alright everyone settle down. Now, I bet you're all wondering why we are having this un-scheduled emergency meeting..." Tony sat up and folded his hands. "It seems we have a small problem with one...or should I say, _three_...of our victims."  
Notepad looked up. "He's right. According to Booksworth's recent report, they've informed a close neighbor of our latest attacks on them. Telly, if you would..."

A vintage analog TV piped up from beside a pillow. "First of all, _stop calling me that_! My name is _Telemus Visual_, and I-!"  
_"Just tune in to our target's location!"_  
The TV sighed. "Alright, _fine_..."

He switched a few of his knobs until his screen depicted what looked like a vibrant kitchen.

"A talking_ clock_?! No way!"  
Harry sighed and took a sip of his afternoon coffee. "It would seem so..."

Sitting not too far from him was a girl-their next-door neighbor Caffrin. She pushed back a lock of her hair; a bit messy, but also a lovely, vibrant shade of caramel. But her _shirt_-her _green-striped sweater_-really made her stand out.

Caffrin reached for her coffee mug. "And you're saying they_ terrorized_ you all, scarring you for_ life?!_"  
Robin looked up from his newspaper. "Well...yes. Manny couldn't sleep for _days_! Luckily, we managed to find that picture book to calm him down."  
"Yikes. Now I kinda feel like I'm in Sesame Street; only it's more like a _ghost-town_ instead of a kid-friendly avenue..."  
"...You won't _believe_ how many times we've heard that."

Notepad changed the TV's channel back to a stern face. "We've seen enough."  
A nearby candle's flame grew stronger. "They weren't supposed to tell anyone. If word were to spread about us any _further_, it'll all be over for us...!"

Notepad put down her pencil. "Well then, we must act _now!_"  
Tony stood up. "I agree...

_...There's no time to waste."_

-  
Wow, this turned out more exciting than I expected. I hope I can actually finish it this time...! (no pun intended)


	2. Chapter 1- The Striped-Sweater Swear

Several days had passed. It felt longer; almost a week.  
Harry paid no attention to it; he had had _more_ than enough to do with the dreaded topic of time.

While they haven't seen Tony-or that Notepad, for that matter-after those two seperate unfortunate events, they weren't about to take any chances asking about them. Both times, their little 'education' songs didn't end with the three learning _anything_...all they were left with was **_fear_**. Nightmares. Seemingly endless trauma.  
And it all kept floating around in their heads and haunting them for **years**.

But, they shouldn't worry. With Caffrin on their side, it won't happen again..._right?_

Harry went outside to get the morning newspaper. He saw Caffrin by her mailbox, smiling and waving.  
He couldn't help but wave back. _'At least we have good neighbors like her...,'_ he thought.

Then, Caffrin turned back to her mailbox to gather the rest of her mail. She closed the mailbox and walked back up her driveway while looking through the many envelopes she had received-most of which were junk mail.  
But then, she came across a small, yellow envelope; no return address, but it had a stamp with what looked like a human heart on it.  
"That's weird," she examined the envelope closer, "Who sent this?"

Suddenly, she heard a small but stern voice. "I suppose you could say..._a friend._"  
She gasped and dropped it, along with the rest of her mail. Was that one of _them?!_  
No...it _couldnt've_ been...could it...?

Caffrin glanced back over to Harry, who was on his way back inside, but had stopped halfway there.  
She chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry...for a minute there, I thought my mail was...nevermind. I must've been hearing things..."

An awkward silence filled the warm, morning outdoor breeze as Caffrin gathered the rest of her mail; closely eyeing the yellow envelope.

Harry went back inside and headed off to the kitchen for some breakfast.  
He opened the refrigerator and looked around. Nothing caught his eye.

Then he saw an apple and an orange sitting together, on the top shelf.  
"Hmm. I don't remember putting those in here..."  
Suspicious, he took the fruit out and put them back in the fruit bowl. Then he decided to just have some toast. He went over to the pantry and got the loaf of bread. As he walked past the fruit bowl to the toaster, he heard a small whisper, sounding like, _"Look sharp. He's coming back...!"_

He paused for a minute and looked back at the fruit bowl. _'Weird,'_ he thought, _'I could've sworn I heard someone...or some**thing...**'_  
It was probably nothing. He shrugged and stuck two loaves into the toaster.

Robin and Manny were in the living room, Robin looking through the newspaper and Manny still reading his picture book.  
Suddenly, a news story caught Robin's eye. _'Local Convenience Store Condemmed For Unknown Reason,'_ it said.  
It turns out that a small corner store not too far from their home-just a couple streets away-had suddenly been closed down by its manager, who hadn't said a word about why_ exactly_ he did it.

But then he noticed something: _'Wasn't that the same store we got the Notepad and the clock all those years ago...?'_ he thought.  
He looked up at Manny, who was still reading that silly book of his. He smiled and went back to reading the news; the fact that Manny would never put that book down for _one second_ was strangely relaxing to him. It kept them both calm, like that book was a perfect distraction to clear their minds from...those **_things._**

The book itself was nothing more than a medium-sized hardcover; a bright-blue color with crazy confetti-like shapes all over. In bold white letters at the top, it read _'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared,'_ with a silly-looking face in the center. Harry and Robin thought it would be perfect for him; since they thought it was about overcoming their fears and help them feel better. However, Manny-being the youngest-needed it the most.

But the _face_ on that book...it seemed a little _disturbing..._

Then Harry walked into the room and sat down in his chair; a coffee mug in his hand.  
Robin looked up at Harry, then back at the newspaper. He was about to mention the convinience store shutting down, but decided against it, just in case it'd set Manny off.  
They heard a short knock at the door, and Harry said it was open.  
Caffrin entered the room. "Hey guys, did you see the little store down the road went out of business?"

Robin put down the newspaper. "I read about it in the morning news. They said the manager refuses to explain what happened to him!"  
Caffrin sat down on a small chair near the one Harry was sitting in. "I know, right? Sounds a bit mysterious, if you ask me..."

Harry set his coffee mug down on the table next to him. "Wasn't that the store we got..." He glanced over at Manny, still reading his book. "..._'them'_...in the first place...?"  
"...Really? Maybe _that's_ why he closed it down..."

They all sat in silence for a moment, thinking long and hard about the mysterious shutdown, all the given details about it, what they already know and remember about the store itself...and how it might relate to those _beings_, how they could walk and talk...how they brought _fear_ to them.  
Caffrin kept looking all around the room, wondering if there were more of them...

Finally, she stood up. "Well, y'know something? I'm not gonna allow this. I'm not about to stand by and watch my own next-door neighbors...my _friends_...live on in fear any longer! As a good, true-to-word neighbor like myself, I'm gonna make a promise to you all that as long as I'm still standing, you'll _**never**_ have to worry about those things again. Not if I can help it!"

Harry sat up. "Well, thanks Caffrin, but you don't really have to-"  
Caffrin continued, "But I _insist_! In fact, I'll make it a **Striped-Sweater Swear**! That's the most serious promise I could ever make. _THAT's_ how much I care."

Caffrin was always so infatuated with her green-striped sweater, with a little shirt-pocket on the side of her chest. She had a whole _wardrobe_ of them; almost taking up half the space in her closet. She considered it as her 'trademark casual', wearing one every single day. She had them all for _years_, and would never let **_anything_** happen to any of them. Even if one of them burst a seam, or became too small, she could sew it back together and even make it bigger-just the right size.  
When she came up with the idea of a 'Striped-Sweater Swear,' she felt more than happy with it, and only used it for promises that were _very_ important to her, stopping at _nothing_ to keep them.  
The people closest to her, of course, were no exception.

Little would they all realize, however, that promise would only be _the beginning..._

-  
Aaannndd here's the supposedly-actual chapter 1! Man, this was a doozie...Yikes. But there's more to come!


	3. Chapter 2- Booksworth

Later that night, while Manny was fast asleep in his room, his book on the table beside his bed. Suddenly, the eyes on the face on its cover changed its focus toward Manny, sleeping soundly. The book quietly opened himself up and tore off one of its pages...

Back in the dim meeting room, the large table was almost silent; all the objects were possibly dormant. Tony heard a knock at the door; a secret code of sorts.  
He sprung out his limbs and stumbled toward the door. Just outside was a tiny package with a ribbon on it, holding a piece of paper.  
"Another Booksworth report, sir," she handed the letter to Tony. "This one looks _serious!_"  
The clock grinned. "Thank you, Carrie."

He went back over to the table. "Everyone, we have another report from Booksworth!"  
Notepad flipped up and yawned. "A little late, don't you think?"  
"It doesn't matter," Tony opened it up. "It's actually good timing; when everyone's still asleep..."

The other inanimate beings sprung to life and gathered around him, as he read:

_"**BOOKSWORTH REPORT:**_

_It appears the neighbor has made some sort of vow-claimed to be a "Striped-Sweater Swear"-to protect our subjects. This could possibly be a threat, so proceed with caution. Also, they seem to be linking our presence to the foreclosure of the Dust-E-Mart, which we are all aware about. Proposition: Try and keep them distracted; whatever the cost._

_-Booksworth"_

The objects all gasped and Notepad drew some angry eyebrows on her face. "Ugh, she named it after her ridiculously-uncreative shirt?! _Despicable!_**_"_**  
A grand piano in the back played a hard note. "What're we gonna do?!"

Tony put the report aside. "We don't have much time. Motherboard will be_ more than_ angry if she hears about an **_outsider_** learning of our exsistence!"  
Notepad picked up her pencil again. "We need to go to phase two-_immediately!_"  
"Agreed. We must send out a third attack, one that is much more subtle..."

A microphone piped up. "What about the downsides of fame and fortune? That'll be a more _traditional_ approach..."  
Tony sighed. "It's worth a shot..."

The next morning, Robin and Manny were eating their breakfast, still thinking about the Dust-E-Mart shutdown. Harry walked in and sat down at the kitchen table, newspaper in hand. He opened it up, wondering if there was new information about the current situation.  
Suddenly, Caffrin knocked on their front door. "It's open," Harry called out, looking up from his newspaper for a brief moment.

She came into the room, looking a little concerned. "Did you guys see the news today? About the Dust-E-Mart manager?"  
Harry gasped. "I...I see. It says the manager just mysteriously disappeared last night. No traces of his body..."  
Caffrin nodded and sat down with them. "You don't think this was..._'their'_ doing, do you?"  
Harry looked up from the paper again. "No...no, it couldn't be. He could've just retired and moved somewhere else..."  
"But don't you think he would've announced it first?!"

Robin set his toast down on his plate. "But...there couldn't be a connection to those things..._right?_"  
Caffrin was starting to piece things together. "Think about it: You said you got them from the Dust-E-Mart, right? And now the manager closes up shop and completely vanishes without an explanation...doesn't that sound kinda weird?"

Another knock at the door. "It's open," Harry called out again.  
Caffrin sighed. "Oh god, who could that be _now?!_"

A microphone stand wheeled into the kitchen, the microphone looking a little shifty. "Salutations, friends!"  
Caffrin gasped and almost fell out of her chair. "N-no-!"  
She sat back up. "Nice try, whatever you are, but my friends have had _more than enough_ of-"  
The microphone interrupted her. "This boring, middle-class lifestyle? I'd assume so!"

Harry closed his newspaper. "Not really..."  
The microphone wheeled over between Robin and Manny. "The name's Mikey, world-famous talent manager that helped a LOT of the hit celebs get their start!"  
"...Like _who?_"

Mikey paused. Then he leaned over toward Manny. "Like this little guy's about to be with my help! He's gonna be a **_star!_**"  
Manny smiled. "Gee, you really think so?!"  
"I know so, kid...you've got _**spunk.**_"  
The microphone turned to Robin. "Or maybe even _you!_ You look like the next big thing on television-your name up in _lights!_"  
Robin's eyes lit up with delight. "Wow, that sounds great!"  
Mikey grinned a suspicious grin, one that secretly caught Caffrin's attention. "It'll be better than great, friend! And I know just where to start-down at the country club!"

Harry shook his head. "Don't trust him," he started, "I don't think he's really a talent manager..."  
Caffrin stood up. "He's right! Some weird stuff's been going on lately, and I don't like it one bit!"  
Mikey stood himself up straight again. "Suit yourself," he said and turned back to Robin and Manny. "How 'bout it, you two? You think you're ready to be famous?"  
They looked at eachother and nodded. "OK! We're ready!"  
Mikey smiled, innocently. "Alright, let's go! Follow me to the country club!"  
The microphone stand wheeled out their front door, Manny and Robin following behind.

Silence. Caffrin looked back at Harry, shocked and bewildered at what just happened.  
Finally, she regained her senses. "Alright, there's gotta be some clues as to what's going on around here..."  
Harry broke out of his confused trance. "Probably. I didn't like the look of that microphone..."  
Caffrin shook her head. "_But it's not just the microphone!_ The other day, I could've _sworn_ my soap bar had a _**face**_ on it!"  
Harry stood up and looked around. "Really...? That doesn't sound good..."  
"**_Exactly!_** We gotta check everything here; maybe there's _more_ of them..."  
"Good idea," Harry started toward the hallway. "I'll check the guest room. You look around the living room."  
Caffrin nodded and set off to the living room.

She checked everywhere. Under the couch-nothing. That ruined clown painting-doesn't seem lethal; it's still covered in black paint. The old rocking horse in the corner-perfectly normal; Caffrin never understood why they kept it there though. Yet, it felt like a nice touch to the room. But that's not important.

Caffrin ran over to the hallway. Harry was in Manny's room, looking under his bed. "Everything seems OK in the living room. Did you find anything?"  
Harry looked up. "Not yet..."

Suddenly, they heard a loud thump coming from one of Manny's drawers. Caffrin silently gasped, then proceeded to the drawer. "Stand back, Harry. He could be dangerous..."  
She opened it up, only to find Manny's little picture book. The face on the cover changed a little; it looked a little more_ serious._  
Harry, who was just behind her, noticed something about the book. Those eyes...that _mind-piercing glare_ it was giving...it looked a _lot_ like **_Tony the Talking Clock!_**

Caffrin opened up the book. Most of the pages were torn out, but one of the remaining pages had writing on it that said:

_"**BOOKSWORTH REPORT:**_

**_THEY KNOW TOO MUCH._**

_-Booksworth"_

"Oh, no...they...they're not gonna-" Caffrin stopped. There was more writing on the back:

_"P.S. Notepad-You were right. That sweater she wears is just RIDICULOUS."_

She gasped. "They _dare_ to criticize_ my wardrobe?!_ _Those little **punks**-!_"  
Suddenly, Caffrin realized something and put the book down. **_"We gotta find Robin and Manny!"_**  
Harry nodded. "We'd better hurry, too. Maybe it's not too late!"  
Without hesitation, they set off to the country club as fast as they could.

The book, still sitting on top of the dresser, turned its eyes out the window with an angrier face on it. It watched as the two ran off to go save their friends from the unthinkable. The face grew angrier, becoming distorted as they got closer and closer to the country club...

Finally, they reached the country club. Luckily, the auditorium wasn't too crowded-_yet_-as they made their way backstage.

Mikey and Robin were outside the dressing room, waiting for Manny. "You almost done in there? You're on in 2 minutes!"  
Manny was still struggling with the zipper on his jacket. "I think my jacket's stuck..."  
The microphone sighed. "It doesn't matter, kid, the zipper's just a decoration. You look just fine!"  
"OK, if you're sure..."

He stepped out of the dressing room, wearing a blue leather jacket opened slightly with a white t-shirt underneath and sparkly jeans with black star-studded belt. "Are you sure this is what the celebrities wear?"  
Mikey smiled. "Of course it is; it's perfect for you!" He turned to Robin. "Now, you're both on in 1-and-a-half minutes. You remember your lines?"  
Robin nodded. "I think so..."

Suddenly, Caffrin and Harry burst through the backstage door, almost out of breath from running all the way there.  
"Harry?"  
"Caffrin?"  
The microphone smiled. _"Perfect timing..."_

Caffrin glared at the microphone.  
**_"We know what you are...!"_** she cried out.

-  
_And this is where the fun begins..._


	4. Chapter 3- The Dust-E-Mart

In an instant, the lights went out. A spotlight was set over Caffrin and Harry, and another on Robin, Manny, and the microphone.  
"Look here, lady," Mikey began, "I've been known to help the big-shots get their start-and I can't let chumps like you two steal away my clients."  
Caffrin shook her head in frustration. "This isn't a game anymore-you're one of _them_; trying to send Robin and Manny into a world of trouble!"  
Mikey chuckled. "I have no idea what you're talking about..."

Manny and Robin looked at eachother in shock, confusion...and almost **_fear_**. Caffrin was right; there's something wrong with all this.  
"Excuse me, Mikey...maybe they're right. Fame and fortune may not be all that worth it..."  
Manny nodded. "I don't think I want to be famous anymore..."  
Mikey's eyes started glowing; his voice becoming hoarse...almost demonic. "But you're my best clients! You're staying with _me_ and you're gonna **_enjoy_ **it!"

Harry stepped forward. "They said no. Leave them alone."  
Thinking quickly, Caffrin grabbed a breakaway vase and threw it at the microphone stand.  
Direct hit. The stand fell over, with Mikey screaming in pain. With him distracted, Manny and Robin ran back to Harry and Caffrin.  
Suddenly, the spotlight turned bright red as Mikey's screams became louder.  
Caffrin grabbed Manny's hand. "Let's get out of this crazy place!"  
Without a moment to lose, they headed to the door and exited the country club.

When they got outside, the sky had turned a dark-reddish color, buildings and bystanders looking more like shadows. Nothing more than silhouettes.  
Caffrin stared in awe at what they've done to their quiet little neighborhood-_they've turned it into **their worst nightmares**_.  
"_The Dust-E-Mart!_" she exclaimed, "That must be their base of operation. C'mon, we gotta investigate!"  
She ran off to the abandoned building, Harry, Robin, and Manny following behind her.

The one lightbulb that lit up the meeting room started to flicker. Carrie arrived at the door with a panicked look on her face.  
"Sir! We have an emergency Booksworth report!"  
Tony grabbed the paper. "Let me see that!"  
As he opened up the report, his eyes widened. "...Oh no."  
Notepad reached for her pencil, freshly sharpened. "What is it, Tony? Have they figured us out?!"  
"Worse," he said as he crumpled up the paper in his grasp.

"...They're **resisting.**"

The other objects gasped. "They might be on their way here right now!"  
Suddenly, there was another secret knock at the door.  
Tony opened the door to find the bent microphone stand where Mikey was still resting on. "Who knew breakaway props could _actually _hurt you...?!"  
The frustrated Tony dragged Mikey into the room and shut the door behind them. He stood Mikey upright. "What happened to you?!"  
Mikey groaned in pain. "I almost had 'em, Tony..._I almost had 'em!_ But _that girl_...she did a _number_ on me! It was **_horrible!_**"

Notepad tightened her grip on the pencil. "That does it! We must go to phase three-**finish them off once and for all!**"  
Tony set down the report, eyes glowing demonically. "Agreed. Our legacy of torture _must_ be perserved!"  
"And there's only_ one_ way to weaken the outsider; making them vulnerable again..." Notepad put her pencil back down beside her. The other objects' eyes started to glow as well.

She grinned evilly. _"We must exploit** her** fears."_

When the four got to the now-abandoned Dust-E-Mart, they noticed the lights were still on inside-and the sliding doors still worked. Once inside, they rifled through all the shelves, checked every aisle, and even behind the counter. Most of the popular items were gone-most notably in the appliance section-but everything else was still there, untouched and possibly non-living.  
Caffrin was in the arts-and-crafts section-since the notepad had taught them about creativity; it seemed appropriate.  
She examined a pottery vase. "Did you guys find anything?"  
"Nothing in the hardware section..."  
"The silverware aisle's all clear!"  
"I can't find anything bad in the sports section!"  
Caffrin put back the vase. "Well, there's gotta be _something_ around he-"

She stopped when she noticed a strange outline on the back wall. She pushed it open to reveal a dark passageway. _'That wasn't there before, was it?!'_ Caffrin thought.  
Caffrin turned her head down the aisle, yet still eyeing the passageway. "Guys..."

Meanwhile, all the other citizens outside were screaming in terror, running around in a panic. Their shadows were fading against the dark-red sky as their screams grew louder. Tony and Notepad watched the madness on Telemus Visual's screen.  
The clock ckuckled. "That's right..._run_ from your inevitable fate. _Try_ to run from your fears. Motherboard will be more than pleased with us now..."  
A laptop shuffled in through the air vent. Notepad switched the channel back to Telemus Visual's face. "Prism Catrina! Did you get any intel on Caffrin's weaknesses?"  
The laptop opened herself up. "I've gathered all the information we need...and** more**."  
"Excellent. What have you discovered?"

Catrina changed her screen to a picture of Caffrin. "Her greatest weakness is being separated from her sweater. That sweater is _everything_ to her; she **_lives_** off of that thing. I even have old footage of her talking about them:"

She changed her screen to a video of Caffrin in her room, sewing up one of her sweaters. She hummed a quiet tune which she composed herself.  
"Oh, my sweet little green-striped sweater," she said as she knotted up her last stitch, "What would I do without you?"  
She smiled warmly and hugged the renewed sweater.

Catrina stopped the video and switched back to her face. "So it must be **_the sweater_** that keeps her safe! Without it, she'd be weak and vulnerable!"  
Notepad's grip on pencil her pencil tightened furiously, snapping it in half. "Of course...the promise she made was based off of that ridiculous, uncreative **disaster** of a shirt!"  
"It might not just be that, either," The laptop continued, "She's also more of the _artistic_ type-claims the sweater helps to give her _inspiraton_; as if the color green itself was **sacred** to her."  
Notepad was furious. "**_That's it!_ **When I get my hands on her-"  
Tony tried to hold her back. "Calm down, Notepad-at least now we know of her greatest fear!"

Notepad sighed and regained her senses. "You're right. The sweater must be _destroyed_."

-  
Oh boy, this is getting serious now! What's gonna happen next? You'll find out soon enough...


	5. Chapter 4- The Caffrin-Mobile

Caffrin grabbed a flashlight from the nearby electronics aisle-making sure it had batteries. "This might lead to those twisted objects' secret lair."  
Harry, Robin, and Manny stood before the dark passage. They never knew it was there; not even when they first bought Tony and Notepad. Was there more to this than they realized?  
Caffrin turned on the flashlight and started down the secret hallway. "C'mon, guys. Whatever they're planning, it needs to be stopped. _I made a promise..._"  
Harry, Robin, and Manny followed close behind.

As they kept walking, Caffrin shone the flashlight all around, looking for anything else suspicious. Suddenly, she almost tripped over something. She pointed her flashlight down at what she had nearly tripped on.  
It looked a lot like the Dust-E-Mart manager, looking pale and motionless, his eyes bleeding, his flesh rotting...and his usual green uniform had been ripped up slightly-the remains were painted _orange_.

Caffrin gasped. "Mr. Dusty?!"  
They stared down at the man's corpse. He was dead; possibly murdered by Tony and Notepad. It was as if all their greatest fears had come to life-**_literally._**  
"Th-this couldn't be-" Robin started, but stopped when he heard a shrill demonic voice.

"An outsider?! **_Blasphemy!_ **We were not to be exposed like this. How could you all fail to prevent this?!"

An extremely demonic and twisted face was being displayed on Prism Catrina's monitor. Tony, Notepad, and all the other objects had gathered around her.  
"They weren't supposed to say anything about us," Tony began, "And now they're becoming _resistant_ with her help!"  
The face on Catrina's monitor growled. "This cannot be so. Find those three foolish mortals and the outsider and bring them to me at **once!**"  
"Yes, Motherboard."

Catrina's monitor switched back to her normal face. "We gotta act fast, friends. Their resistance could be lethal to _all_ of us!"  
"Not to worry, Catrina," a compass stood itself up. "We'll find them. And when we do, there won't be _**anything**_ to stop us!"

Caffrin was standing just outside the door to the meeting hall, listening in on the whole conversation.  
"...Motherboard?" She turned back to the others. "They have a _**leader?!**_"  
"We should probably leave now. They're gonna come looking for us..."  
Caffrin nodded. "If it's a challenge they want, a challenge they'll get. I have a plan, anyway."  
They headed back to the entrance of the passageway and sealed it back up. "Now, follow me. Let's just say we're going for a ride..."

Caffrin opened up her garage to reveal a large bright-green convertible car. On the side was a white streak, with the word 'Caffrin-Mobile' written on it. "There it is, friends...the Caffrin-Mobile. I've been saving this for a special occasion; but in the case of a Striped-Sweater Swear...that occasion is _**now.**_"  
Harry looked at the car. "It is a nice car, but can you tell us what the plan is now?"  
"Oh, right," Caffrin unlocked her car. "See, they're gonna be all over town looking for us. So, we take my car, we drive around town, and run 'em all over. That'll at _least_ get the small to medium-sized things out of the way; the rest we'll deal with as we go."  
"And you _really_ think that's gonna work?"

Caffrin opened up her car door. "It'll have to. I made a _promise_, and I'm _not_ about to break it."  
She got in the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. "Now, hop in-the madness must end now."

"Do you see anything yet?" a parking meter being called to a nearby tree.  
The tree ruffled its branches and grew a face. "Not yet, Parker, but Otto's on road patrol, so maybe he'll give us a signal."  
Parker turned back to his original position. "Well, I REALLY don't think Otto's gonna be able to-"  
Suddenly, the Caffrin-Mobile zoomed by and Caffrin whacked Parker with her utility hammer that she keeps in her bright-purple backpack whenever she goes out in public. She had always believed in preparation; being ready for anything.

"That's one of 'em," Caffrin pulled her head back into the car window, "And there's plenty more where that came from."  
Suddenly, there was a loud honking sound from behind them. A red sports-mobile was speeding after them.  
"_Nobody_ gets away from **_Otto Mobile!_**" The car's headlights turned on and honked louder.  
Caffrin adjusted her rear-view mirror. "A car being! I should've expected as much..."  
She made a sharp left turn, Otto following close behind ans still honking.

Just up ahead, a happy circle and an angry triangle standing by on the sidewalk. The happy circle heard Otto's honking and his smile grew wider.  
"Hey, Triangle! _Triii-angllee!_ That's Otto's signal! I hear it!"  
"Shut up, you fool! They're coming our way!"  
Happy Circle gasped excitedly. **_"YES."_**  
He ran out to the middle of the road. "I'm gonna give 'em_ mood swings!_"  
Angry Triangle groaned and followed him. "Circle, you are an _idiot_."  
"Thanks, Tri'!"

They didn't even see the Caffrin-Mobile drive up to them as it ran them over and squashed them. But even as they laid there, limp and motionless, Happy Circle was _still_ smiling.  
Harry looked out the window behind them. "Was that...was that a _circle_ and a _triangle?!_"  
"It doesn't matter," Caffrin pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal. "I'd hate to see what they would've done for their _geometry _lesson..."

Otto's honking became even louder as it was trailing behind the Caffrin-Mobile.  
Caffrin pushed the gas pedal as hard as she could. **_"I can't shake him off!"_**  
Suddenly, she had a brainstorm. "Fasten your seatbelts, boys-I'm making an _**extra**_-sharp turn...!"  
She drove the Caffrin-Mobile directly toward a short building at the end of the road, and just before they made direct contact, Caffrin jerked the steering wheel to the right and turned the car in the other direction. Otto couldn't react fast enough and crashed right into the building, smashing him up and killing him.

Caffrin looked back at the completely-totaled car. "Got 'em! Now all we have to do is-"  
_"Caffrin!"_ Harry pulled her back into the car.  
"What?!" She turned her eyes back to the road, which was trailing right off a cliff.  
She gasped and slammed on the brakes. The Caffrin-Mobile almost fell off, swerving back and forth. Caffrin tried to back up the car, but they were too far in to move. They were stuck.  
"Oh, this is _NOT _good..."

Sudenly, they felt the car being pushed off the cliff. Harry and Caffrin looked behind them, only to find that it was none other than Tony the Talking Clock.  
"I'm terribly sorry friends," he said with one last shove, "but it looks like you're all out of**_ time!_**"  
The Caffrin-Mobile fell off, and the four screamed for the life of them.

Suddenly, everything went dark.


	6. Chapter 5- Broken Promise

Caffrin awoke to find that she and her friends had fallen into a dark chasm. A few unidentified figures and shapes were flying around here and there; some of them looked like _people._  
Harry, Robin, and Manny were lying on the floor, possibly unconscious.

Caffrin gasped. "...Guys?!"  
She ran over to the three and shook Harry. He wasn't moving.  
"C'mon, guys," A single tear rolled Caffrin's cheek. "Don't you die on me now! I made a Striped-Sweater Swear for you guys...Please...," she sobbed once...twice...three times. "Please wake up."

Harry's eyes slowly opened up; he had regained consciousness. "Wha...huh? Where are we...?"  
Caffrin silently gasped, then started crying tears of joy and relief that her neighbors-_friends_-were still alive.  
"I...I'm so sorry, guys," she sniffled as the others started to wake up, "I feel like this was all my fault for getting involved with all..._this..._"  
Harry sighed and gave her a soft hug. "It's OK, Caffrin...If anything, I shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place."  
Robin sat up and looked around. "Um, guys...where are we, exactly?"  
A yellow confetti-like shape flew past Manny. "It kinda looks like a funhouse..."

"I suppose you could say that...," a dark voice bellowed. A dim light flickered on; yet there was nothing else but the four and the mysterious floating shapes. "Or should we say...a _**fearhouse****?**_"  
Caffrin clenched her fist angrily. "Alright, where are you?! We've had enough of you guys and your so-called 'lessons'! Leave us alone!"  
"Silly outsider...we're not through with you all just yet..."

A spotlight turned on to reveal Tony the Talking Clock, carrying Notepad in his arm. "We have some unfinished business to take care of."  
The three boys gasped. "Y-_You?!_"  
"Well, well, well...we meet again, friends. And I see you've brought an _outsider_ with you!"  
Notepad pulled out some sort of pen from her spiral-bind. It was glowing a bright white color, making it look especially lethal. "We don't appreciate outsiders too well," she grinned widely, eyes glowing bright-red. "_Especially_ those with uncreative shirts like _**that!**_"

Caffrin gasped. Nobody had ever insulted her prized green-striped sweater like that in all her life; it was enough to set her over the edge. "**HEY. **You can hurt my friends, you can insult me; but when you diss the sweater...," she stepped closer to Tony and Notepad; the ground almost shook with each step she took. "...**YOUR FATE WILL BE _SEALED._**"  
Tony chuckled. "We'll see about that..."  
Notepad aimed the glowing pen at Caffrin. "Now, let's see what this pen can do!"

In an instant, a beam of light shot directly at Caffrin. Her hair darkened, her skin became pale, the green stripes on her sweater faded; slowly turning a dark shade of grey...  
Notepad cackled as the beam slowly died down. "You see now, 'friend'? Without your precious sweater, you're weak and powerless. _Nothing_ could stop us!"  
Caffrin's vision turned monotone-almost colorblind-and she fell over in defeat.  
Harry stepped closer to the fallen Caffrin. "C-Caffrin...no..."

**-0-0-**

It was as if her personality was drained out of her. All her energy had left her body, leaving almost nothing.

Absolutely nothing.  
Empty.

Almost like an open window had been shut. An empty, dark void.  
Dark.  
Grey.

She felt lifeless, like a broken promise that had been long forgotten.

Promise..._Swear...**Striped-Sweater Swear!**_

The stripes on Caffrin's sweater that were once dark and grey had suddenly jolted back to its true, bright-green color. She had been revived-her spirit had come back to life.  
Caffrin stood up, and the sweater started to glow. A bright neon-green suddenly lit up the surrounding darkness.  
"I made a Striped-Sweater Swear, mind you. That's a promise that must _never_ be broken."

Tony stumbled back in surprise. "Th-that's not possible! You were-"  
"I never wanted any of this to happen; you two caused nothing but _trouble_ ever since you arrived, scaring these poor, innocent boys to death! But not anymore. This ends_ now._"  
The clock suddenly grinned. "I suppose you're right. _**Everyone's** _time must end soon enough..."  
Suddenly, Harry, Robin, and Manny started rotting away; much like their first encounter with Tony. Their flesh began to melt off as maggots crawled all over them. They were bleeding. Screaming. _**Dying.**_

Caffrin watched in horror as they slowly rotted alive. She couldn't believe it...she couldn't allow this.  
"Stop it! STOP IT!"  
Tony chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Time never stops; it cannot be reversed."  
Caffrin's eyes suddenly gave off a light-blue glow; her true power was to be unleashed. "Well then...

...Looks like it's TIME for _ME _to **_GET CREATIVE!_**"

She stuck out her hands and released a green light; a beam of energy aimed directly at Tony and Notepad.  
The ground started to shake. The darkness around them had lit up. Tony screamed in pain as he had been torn to pieces. Notepad fell over, ripped up and motionless.  
Harry, Robin, and Manny had stopped melting and reverted back to normal, and watched in awe as the green light faded out. It was nothing like they had seen before; and that was saying _a lot._  
Notepad and Tony had done their worst to them, and they were finally getting what they deserved.

After the energy beam died down, all that was left of Tony and Notepad's remains were gears, little shreds of paper and yarn...and Tony's yellow and red bowtie.  
"What's done has been done," Caffrin panted, "But it's not completely done..."

"Well done, outsider...but there's _one last thing_ you should all know of..."  
A louder, deeper voice called out, and one more spotlight lit up.

There stood Manny's father, Roy, breathing heavily and motionless.


	7. Chapter 6- Motherboard

Manny gasped. "D-Dad?!"  
Roy didn't reply. He didn't move. He just stood there, not even blinking.

Manny started to cry as he ran over to his dysfunctional father.  
He grabbed onto Roy's hand as tight as he could. "Dad, are you OK? What'd they do to you...?"  
Still no response. Manny sobbed louder. "...ANSWER ME!"

The heart-breaking scene was almost enough to make Caffrin burst into tears. First, his mother falls off a bridge and dies, and now the poor kid's dad became a depressed zombie. How did it come to this? The news report said Manny's mom fell off on 'accident'...But it _couldnt've_ been an accident; she must've been thrown off!..._Right?_  
But Caffrin couldn't cry. She must be strong. She promised.

Suddenly, the voice rung out again.

"He can't hear you. He belongs to **_us_ **now."  
Manny and Caffrin gasped simultaneously. "How could you? How could you do this to Mr. Roy?! He was the kid's dad...It's bad enough he doesn't have a mom anymore; now you're gonna take away all he has left in his family?!"  
"Of course we are. His father means nothing anymore. He needs to die...like his _foolish **mother.**_"

Caffrin felt her heart snap right in two; she could almost hear it breaking."...W...What...you _didn't_..!"  
Manny looked up to find wherever the voice was coming from. "But...I thought..."  
The voice cackled. "Your mother was weak. She couldn't handle the pressure. Her death was no accident. **WE **killed her. We forced her into suicide...with _**fear.**_"  
"So...it was you all along..."  
"That's right. And we'll do the same to your father, now that we've pressured him enough. His mind has already been drained. He probably doesn't even know you're there..."

Roy still wasn't moving. Manny sniffled, not letting go of his hand. "You..._YOU **MEANIES!**_" he cried out, "You killed my mom-the best mom I ever had-but I won't let you hurt my dad! I was friends with him, and you screwed him up and made him into someone he's not! It's like I hardly know him anymore..."  
Caffrin spoke up, her voice almost cracked. "He's right-You're a _heartless monster!_" She paused to pull herself back together. "Now, where are you and who is this Motherboard?!"  
"Silly outsider, I'm right here...!"

**-0-0-**

A purple human-shaped figure flew just over their heads, then disappeared into some sort of wall. The dark chasm finally lit up to reveal a huge room, with some miscellaneous objects and items placed neatly on shelves to the side. In front of them was a wall of monitors, some with pictures of deserted, ghostly cities thrown into ruin, while others had more disturbing pictures, like a human heart of a rotting apple...and one of them showed a person being stabbed, screaming in pain and agony.  
The monitors were small; they surrounded one big monitor with a distorted face on it, with bright-red eyes and a demonic grin that was **_long_**-past unsettling.

"So you're Motherboard," Harry said as Caffrin and Robin stumbled back a bit. Manny ran back to them and hugged Caffrin tightly, no longer caring about his dad-his friends were _much_ more important to him now.  
"Indeed I am," the face on the big monitor chuckled.  
"WHAT DO YOU _WANT_ FROM US?!" Caffrin cried, _"WHY WON'T YOU **LEAVE US ALONE!?**"_  
Two wires-each ending with an electrical plug-came out from the sides of Motherboard's monitor. One of the plugs briefly sparked up. "It's quite simple, really...

"You see, friends, I am no ordinary being-hardly a being _at all_, in fact. I was supposedly created to tap into one's mind and rid them of their greatest fears. What they didn't count on was that I would do the _opposite_ of what they programmed-I don't _prevent_ fear, I **_provoke_ **fear. I _live_ off of it. I even brought life to household objects to create their _own_ type of fear. Few by few, I sent them out to unsuspecting houses all over the world to wreak havoc on their sanity, luring them in with a traditional song that would end in _chaos_ and _torture._  
"The nightmares they cause give me power. Soon enough, I'll be in control of everyone's lives. Nothing could stop us; as long as the victims kept their mouths shut. It's not _everyday_ we have to deal with an outsider; _especially_ one like **_you._**"

The wires snaked closer to Caffrin. She stepped back. "You can't do this. I promised to keep my friends safe, and I won't let you win like this-_not on **my** watch!_"  
Suddenly, she noticed a small black table just below Motherboard. On the table was a computer that connected a bunch of long wires together...and it looked exactly like **_her_ **laptop!  
She gasped. "My laptop...?!"  
Motherboard smiled again. "She's one of my 'creations'. I've named her Prism Catrina."

Caffrin looked over to the others. They were tangled in more wires, trying to resist, but they couldn't move. She had to think fast-not only were her _friends'_ lives at stake, but now the fate of the _**entire world** _was in her hands!  
Then she got an idea. Eyeing the laptop, she ran past the wires and toward the black table.  
Motherboard's face grew angrier and more twisted. "Where are you going?! **COME BACK HERE!**"

The wires were in hot pursuit, but Caffrin never gave up on anything. But before she could reach the computer, one of the wires grabbed her ankle and tripped her over.  
That wouldn't stop her, though. She grabbed onto the edge of the table and lifted herself up to the laptop. The wire was trying to pull her back, but she fought with all her might.  
Motherboard growled. **"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! _STOP IT!_ STOP IT _NOW!_"**

Caffrin grunted as she pulled herself closer. "Sorry, miss...but...you need to be...shut _down!_"  
She reached for the computer's power button and pressed it, holding it down as the laptop shut off.  
All the little monitors turned to static. Motherboard's face started to glitch away, its eyes flickering from red to green. It screeched loudly as the room shook. The wires that held Harry, Robin, and Manny down loosened up and retracted back to the wall of broken monitors. The lights grew brighter and brighter, until eventually, it was imposible to see anything.

Then the screeching stopped and the lights died down, until everything was pitch-black again.


	8. Epilogue

Harry's eyes slowly opened up. The bright light was still shining...but it was only the sun, contrast with the bright blue sky, clouds floating here and there.  
He sat up to find he and his friends were on their own front lawn. Everything looked normal again. The grass was green, birds were singing...absolutely _peaceful_. Not only that, but the Caffrin-Mobile was on Caffrin's driveway, not a single dent or scratch to be seen.

Caffrin groaned as she awoke, yawning as she looked around. "What happened...? Did I just..."  
She blinked twice to make sure she wasn't imagining this. "Hey...everything's all colorful and happy again!"  
Manny and Robin woke up at the same time. "Wh...Where are we?"  
Caffrin smiled. "We're _home_, guys...we're _home_."  
Harry sighed in relief. "Glad that's over. Hopefully _now,_ we can get on with our lives once again..."

"Yeah..." Caffrin stood up and stretched. "But y'know somethin', guys? I don't think we've seen the last of those things..."  
She looked back at the three and smiled. "...But for now, let's just pretend we have and never speak of this ever again."  
"Agreed."

Suddenly, Roy came up to them. But he didn't look like Roy anymore. He looked younger, with more hair and a smile on his face. He looked a lot like he did before his wife-Manny's mom-died.  
"Hey there, son," The new Roy held out his hand, "I was wondering where you were."  
Manny smiled happily. "Dad, it's **_you!_**" he ran over to Roy and hugged him tight. "I missed you so much, dad-I thought I'd lost you **_forever!_**"  
Roy smiled and hugged him back. "It's OK now, son...I'm right here."

Harry stood up, his body was still aching a bit. "So I guess everything's back to normal now."  
"I guess so," Caffrin said as she watched a girl ride her bicycle down the road, "And with that said, we can all sleep in peace again, knowing that those objects that terrorized you all before are gone."

Suddenly, Caffrin noticed Manny's old picture book lying on the ground. She picked it up with caution and flipped through it slowly. All the pages were there, completely untouched. It looked brand new; even the cover had its original goofy face on it.  
She smiled and gave it back to Manny. "Here you go, Manny. It's your favorite book, just the way it was before."  
"Thanks, Caffrin. You're the best."  
Caffrin giggled. "Don't mention it, kid."  
"So, _now_ what?"

Caffrin's sweater was still glowing faintly, but then she felt her stomach rumble. "Well, after all that just happened, I could use something to eat right now."  
Harry nodded. "Same. I'll go make us all some lunch."  
"No, it's alright, Harry..._**I'll **_do it. I've got this great new pasta recipe you'll _really_ like."  
Harry started back into their house. "OK. My show's gonna be on soon, anyway."

Roy looked down at Manny. "Well, what're we waiting for, son? Let's go eat!"  
Manny smiled and followed him into the house, still holding onto his hand. "OK, dad."

**-0-0-**

While Caffrin was boiling a pot of spaghetti in the kitchen, she spotted a little notepad in the corner of her eye. She opened it up and flipped through the pages. They were all completely blank, up until the last page, which had a message scribbled in green crayon.

It read, _"I'm sorry."_


End file.
